gender identityhttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/taxonomy/term/8077/all
enModern Believing and the sexuality debatehttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/20483
<p><a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/20483" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Religion and SocietySex and GenderNews Briefequal marriagegender identityLGBTIModern ChurchsexualityBlogSat, 10 May 2014 11:23:26 +0000Savi Hensman20483 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukUS told to commute Manning’s sentence and investigate abuseshttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18892
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<p>President Obama should commute US Army Private Manning’s sentence to time already served to allow immediate release, Amnesty says.</p>
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<p>President Obama should commute US Army Private Manning’s sentence to time already served to allow her immediate release, Amnesty International says. </p>
<p>The comment came after last week's court verdict -- following which Bradley Manning announced a desire to undergo hormone therapy for gender dysphoria and to be known in future as a woman, Chelsea Manning.</p>
<p>Military judge Col Denise Lind last week sentenced the Wikileaks source to 35 years in military prison – out of a possible 90 – for leaking reams of classified information. </p>
<p>Manning has already served more than three years in pre-trial detention, including 11 months in conditions described by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture as cruel and inhumane.</p>
<p>“[Bradley] Manning exposed information on the conduct of the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan and sparked a public debate on the costs and implications of war. [His] revelations included reports on battlefield detentions and previously unseen footage of journalists and other civilians being killed in US helicopter attacks, information which should always have been subject to public scrutiny,” said Widney Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International. </p>
<p>“Instead of ‘sending a message’ by giving him decades in prison the US government should turn its attention to investigating violations of human rights and humanitarian law in the context of the ill-conceived ‘war on terror’.” </p>
<p>Some of the materials Manning leaked, published by Wikileaks, pointed to potential human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law by US troops abroad, by Iraqi and Afghan forces operating alongside US forces, and by private military contractors. Yet the judge had ruled before the trial that Private Manning would not be able to defend [himself] by presenting evidence that he was acting in the public interest.</p>
<p>“Manning had already pleaded guilty to leaking information, so for the US to have continued prosecuting him under the Espionage Act, even charging [him] with ‘aiding the enemy,’ can only be seen as trying to divert the public’s attention from the government’s wrongdoing. ” said Brown. </p>
<p>“More than anything else, the case shows the urgent need to reform the USA’s antiquated Espionage Act and strengthen protections for those who reveal information that the public has a need and a right to know.” </p>
<p>Manning’s defence counsel is expected to file a petition for clemency shortly with the US Department of Justice office that reviews requests for pardons and other acts of clemency before passing them on to the President for a final decision. Such requests are normally made after all appeals are exhausted, but the President may grant clemency at any time.</p>
<p>“Manning should be shown clemency in recognition of his motives for acting as he did, the treatment he endured in [his] early pre-trial detention, and the due process shortcomings during his trial. The President doesn’t need to wait for this sentence to be appealed to commute it; he can and should do so now,” said Brown.</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Crime and JusticePeople and PowerNews BriefAmnesty InternationalBarack Obamabradley manninggender identitywikileaksWorld NewsSat, 24 Aug 2013 14:22:53 +0000staff writers18892 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukFailure to legislate for equal marriage may result in legal challengehttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18345
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<p>Amnesty International has warned of a likely legal challenge if Northern Ireland is left as the only part of the UK without marriage rights for same-sex couples.</p>
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<p>Amnesty International has warned of a likely legal challenge if Northern Ireland is left as the only part of the UK without marriage rights for same-sex couples.</p>
<p>Speaking in advance of a vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly on same-sex marriage, due to take place on Monday, Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International's Northern Ireland Programme Director, said: "States may not discriminate with regards to the right to marry and found a family, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. That obligation is clear in international law. This means that marriage should be available to same-sex couples in Northern Ireland just as it appears it soon will be in other parts of the UK.</p>
<p>"Equally, the right to adopt, for instance, should be available without distinction based on sexual orientation or gender identity.</p>
<p>"The UK authorities cannot abdicate that responsibility not to discriminate and Northern Ireland politicians should not leave local same-sex couples with inferior rights to the rest of society.</p>
<p>"Should politicians fail to act, there could be a legal challenge on the basis of inferior treatment of same-sex couples in Northern Ireland with regards to the right to marry and found a family."</p>
<p>He conclused: "Sadly, it appears that some politicians prefer to abdicate their responsibility on questions like this, leaving it instead to judges to take the right decision."</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Economy and PoliticsSex and GenderNews BriefAmnesty Internationalgender identitynorthern irelandsame sex marriagesexual orientationUK NewsMon, 29 Apr 2013 15:27:28 +0000agency reporter18345 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukLaunch of Rachel Mann's 'Dazzling Darkness'http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17315
<p><a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17315" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Religion and SocietySex and GenderNews BriefbookChristian publishingdisabilitydisabledgender identityGodillnessiona communitytheologywild goose publicationsBlogTue, 06 Nov 2012 03:44:24 +0000Press Office17315 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukBisexual Visibility Day - and why it mattershttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/13177
<p><a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/13177" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Sex and Genderbinary genderbisexualitygender identityhomophobiaLGBTBlogThu, 23 Sep 2010 22:24:05 +0000Symon Hill13177 at http://www.ekklesia.co.uk